Strap retaining device for undergarment



May 23, 1961 M.. M. BUDD ETAL. 2,984,879

STRAP RETAIN-ENG DEVICE FOR UNDERGARMENT Filed Feb 19. 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 $02M; MM

ATTORNEYS INVENTORS May 23, 1961 M. M. BUDD ET AL 2,984,879

STRAP RETAINING DEVICE FOR UNDERGARMENT Filed Feb 19. 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS Mamid/ M 5410b ATTORNEYS United States Patent STRAP RETAINING DEVICE FOR UNDERGARMENT Marshall M. Budd and Eileen M. Budd, both of 34-15 94th St., Jackson Heights 72, NY.

Filed Feb. 19, 1959, Se!- N 794,286

1 Claim. (CI. 24-79) This invention relates to lingerie and more particularly to lingerie embodying strap retaining devices.

Women long have faced the problem of preventing their slip strap from becoming laterally separated from the brassiere strap thus leaving a wide unsightly gap and in many cases permitting the slip strap to slide completely off of the shoulder. The brassiere strap normally is relatively stable because it is retained tightly against the shoulder. Slip straps, however, are relatively loose and therefore difiicult to maintain in place. Both for the sake of comfort and appearance, it is highly desirable to keep both straps together in one smooth, substantially coextensive line across the shoulder.

Various devices have heretofore been developed to retain the slip and brassiere straps together, but none has proved to be satisfactory. Among the disadvantages of certain of the heretofore known devices are high manufacturing cost, undue bulkiness in use and thus unsightly appearance, difficulty in fastening and discomfort to the wearer.

To overcome the disadvantages of heretofore known devices, it is a primary object of this invention to provide an undergarment having an improved strap retaining device which is economical to manufacture, easy to fasten, comfortable to wear and presents a minimum of bulkiness 1n use.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a garment wherein the strap retaining device securely retains a slip strap in close proximity to a relatively wider brassiere strap.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a garment wherein the strap retaining device is formed from a single piece of material in such a manner that the arrangement of the straps and the device is very thin thereby leaving a minimum visible bulge in the shoulder of the outer garment.

Generally described, the invention includes an undergarment adapted to fit the upper portion of the human body over a brassiere with a supporting strap of the undergarment extending over the shoulder of the wearer in close proximity to the shoulder strap of another undergarment and a strap retaining device which comprises a thin flat buckle portion connected to the supporting strap and a clip portion of thin spring material extending substantially in the plane of the buckle portion in a direction transverse to the supporting strap. The clip portion is arranged in a flat U-shape providing a pair of legs and a base, said base facing away from said buckle portion. The clip portion is rigidly connected by one leg only to one edge of the buckle portion with the other free ended leg being cooperable with said one leg to resiliently grip "ice the shoulder strap of the other garment and retain the straps in close proximity to each other.

Preferably the flat buckle portion is provided with slots to slideably receive the supporting strap thereby permitting the strap retaining device to be permanently mounted on the supporting strap.

Further, the lower leg of the U-shaped clip portion preferably terminates laterally outwardly of the slots and the supporting strap so that at no place will there be a combined thickness of the clip portion and the supporting strap to which the buckle portion is attached.

Still further, the base of the U-shaped clip portion is preferably oriented relative to the straps so as to positively engage the edge of the strap of the other garment when the uppermost of the two straps starts to move off of the shoulder.

The invention having been generally described, illustrative specific embodiments will now be set forth in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a ladys slip with the strap retaining device attached to a slip strap and holding such strap in centered, coextensive relationship over a brassiere strap;

Figure 2 is a top perspective view of the strap retaining device of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a bottom perspective view of the strap retaining device of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a ladys brassiere with the strap retaining device attached to a brassiere strap and holding such strap in substantially coextensive relationship with a slip strap which overlies the brassiere strap; and

Figures 6, 7 and 8 are perspective views of several modified embodiments of the strap retaining device.

Shown in perspective in Figure 1 is a ladys slip 11 having a supporting shoulder strap 12 which extends from the front to the rear of the body portion of the slip in such a manner as to fit over the wearers shoulder when in use. Both ends of the strap are fixed to the body portion of the slip. The slip is shown fitting over a brassiere 13 having a supporting shoulder strap 14 which is wider than the slip strap 12. The shoulder strap 14 is also connected at both ends to the body portion of the brassiere 13.

Permanently mounted on the slip strap 12 in slideable relationship thereto is a strap retaining device 15 which is preferably formed of thin metal. The slip strap 12 passes under the rim 1'6, upwardly through an elongated slot 17, over a center rib I18, downwardly through elongated slot 19 and under the opposite rim 21 of the strap retaining device 15. There is thus provided a thin fiat buckle portion 22 permanently and slideably connected to the slip strap 12. The buckle portion preferably is fabricated of sheet metal but other materials may be used. The corners of the buckle portion 22 are rounded and a rounded notch 23 is situated in one end of the buckle portion 22.

Integral with and extending laterally from the other end of the buckle portion 22 is a clip portion 24 of thin flat spring material, preferably sheet metal. The clip portion 24 is bent downwardly and inwardly into a fiat U-shape. The upper leg of the U lies in the same plane as the buckle portion 22. The base 25 of the U-shaped clip is spaced laterally from the outer end of the buckle portion 22 and the slip strap 12. The spacing is such that when the brassiere strap 14 is received within the base of the U-shaped clip, the edges of the straps 12 and 14 are spaced from each other to leave the strap 12 substantially centered relative to the strap 14. The lower leg 26 of the U-shaped clip is bent inwardly to- ,w'ard'the upper leg to leave a very narrow space therebetween to resiliently grip the brassiere strap 14 and thus retain the slip strap '12 in desired position.

, The clip portion 24 is positioned on the side of the slip strap nearest the neck of the wearer. In this position, when the slip strap moves outwardly, the base of the U-shaped clip portion will positively engage the edge of the brassiere strap to restrict such movement.

The lower leg 26 of the U-shaped clip terminates outwardly of the slots and the slip strap so that no combined thickness of the slip strap and the leg 26 will be present to increase the bulk of the entire arrangement "of clip and straps. Further, the terminal end of the lower leg 26 flares outwardly a slight amount to facilitate insertion of the brassiere strap into the U-shaped clip.

The center of the U-shaped clip is bulged outwardly around the base of the U to form a longitudinal reinforcing rib 27 which increases the strength and the holding power of the clip.

The. entire retaining device 15 is as thin as possible consistent with adequate gripping strength. A particular advantage of its construction is not only its own thinness but also its provision for minimum thickness of the entire arrangement of the device with the straps. With the U-shaped clip placed laterally outside of the buckle portion, there is never presented at any one place the combined thickness of two straps and two layers of metal. On the contrary, in the area of the buckle portion 22, there is one thickness of metal and two thicknesses of strap. In the area of the clip portion 24, there are two thicknesses of metal but only one thickness of strap because of the termination of the end of the inner leg of the U-shaped clip short of the slots in the buckle portion.

. Shown in perspective in Figure is a strap retaining device 31 which is permanently and slideably attached by a buckle portion 32 to the brassiere strap 14 rather than the slip strap12. A clip portion 33 of the strap retaining device 31 resiliently grips the slip strap 12 to retain it in substantially coextensive relationship with the brassiere strap 14.

The strap retaining device 31 is identical to the strap retaining device 15 except that the buckle portion 32 is wider than the buckle portion 22 and has longer slots to accommodate the brassiere strap 14 which, as previously stated, is wider than the slip strap 12. Moreover, the strap retaining device 31 is oriented with the freeended leg of the clip portion 33 facing upwardly and with the clip portion 33 positioned on the side of the brassiere strap nearest the outer edge of the shoulder of the wearer. In this position, when theslip strap 12 moves outwardly toward.the outer edge of the shoulder, the base of the U-shaped clip portion 33 will positively engage the edge of the slip strap 12 and restrict such movement.

As shown in Figures 1 and 5, the strap retaining device, whether mounted on the brassiere strap or slip A strap, has its clip portion positioned on the side of the supporting strap to which the device is permanently mounted which will enable the base of the U-shaped clip to positively engage the edge of the shoulder strap of the other garment in response to movement of the uppermost of the two straps toward the outer edge of the shoulder. Such orientation of the clip portion thereby insures that the slip strap will not he accidentally removed from the shoulder even though it should slip against the frictional grasp of the resilient legs of the clip portion.

.N. can... m...

A modified form of strap retaining device 41 is shown in Figure 6 as it would be mounted on a slip strap 12 overlying a brassiere strap 14, the straps being shown in phantom lines. The buckle portion 42 of the strap retaining device 41 is identical to the buckle portion 22 of the strap retaining device 15. The clip portion 43, however, is formed of spring wire rather than spring sheet metal. The two wire elements which form the leg 44 of the clip portion 43 are welded or otherwise rigidly connected to the buckle portion 42. In other respects, the relative arrangement of the legs 44 and 45 and the base 46 are identical to the relative arrangement of the corresponding elements of the clip portion 24.

Shown in Figure 7 is another modified form of strap retaining device 51 having a buckle portion 52 and a clip portion 53. The strap retaining device 51 is identical in all respects to the device 15 except that a V-shaped notch 54 is formed in the clip portion 53 to extend from the base 55 to a point deep within the legs 56 and 57.

Either of the modified devices 41 or 51 may be mounted on the slip strap 12 as shown or, alternatively, they may be mounted in an upside-down position on the brassiere strap or the slip strap, the clip portion is posi- 5-1 is mounted on the brassiere strap, the buckle portions 42 or 52 will be of sufiicient width with sufiiciently long slots to enable a permanent sliding attachment to the brassiere strap. Whether they are mounted on the brassiere strap or the slip strap, the clip portion is positioned for positive engagement with the edge of the shoulder strap of the' other garment in response to movement of the slip strap toward the outer edge of the shoulder. V 7

Still another modified embodiment of the invention is depicted in Figure 8 which shows a strap retaining device 61. Like the device 15, the device 61 is provided with a buckle portion 62 having a pair of elongated slots 63 and 64 to slideably receive a slip strap 12. Integral with the buckle portion 62 are a pair of U-shaped clip portions 65 and 66. Each of the clip portions 65 and 66 is identical in all respects to the clip portion 24 except that no reinforcing rib such as the rib 27 is provided. Two clip portions are provided on opposite sides of the buckle portion instead of a single clip portion on one side of the buckle portion. Normally the strap retaining device 61 is permanently mounted on a slip strap with the legs of the clip portions engageable with opposite sides of a relatively wider brassiere strap. If desired, however, the device 61 may be inverted and permanently mounted on the brassiere strap rather than the slip strap.

The clip portions of the strap retaining devices 41 and 51 are relatively flexible at the base of the U, whereas'the devices 15 and 61 employ more rigid U- shaped clip portions.

This application is a continuation-in-part of our copending application Serial No. 780,336, filed December 15, 1958, now abandoned.

'There has been illustrated and described what is considered to be preferred embodiments of the invention. It will be apparent, however, that various modifications can be made by persons skilled in the art to which the invention pertains without departing from the scope of 'e' invention, which is determined by the appended claim.

We claim:

A strap retaining device for use with an undergarment for the upper portion of the human body having a supporting strap adapted to extend over the shoulder of a wearer substantially co-extensive with the shoulder strap of another under-garment when the two undergarments are worn one above the other, said device comprising: a thin, flat, buckle portion for mounting on one of said straps and a U-shaped clip portion of thin spring material having a pair of leg portions and a base portion,

said buckle portion including a pair of parallel spaced slots adapted to slidably receive said one of said straps, said clip portion being rigidly connected to one edge of said buckle portion by one leg portion extending from said buckle portion generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of said buckle slots and substantially in the plane of said buckle portion, with the other leg portion being free-ended and co-operable With said one leg portion to resiliently grip the other of said straps and retain the straps in close proximity to each other, said free-ended leg portion terminating short of said buckle portion slots in an outward flare, and the base portion of said U- shaped clip portion being transversed to said longitudinal axis of said buckle slots for positive engagement with the edge of said other of said straps in response to movement of the uppermost strap toward the outer edge of the shoulder.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 205,348 Buchholz June 25, 1878 259,772 ODaniel et al. June 20, 1882 471,919 Walker Mar. 29, 1892 697,811 Conway Apr. 15, 1902 1,220,896 Schwarz Mar. 27, 1917 2,257,494 Brown Sept. 30, 1941 2,528,854 Burk et al. Nov. 7, 1950 2,529,308 Powers Nov. 7, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF "CORRECTION Patent No. 2,984,879

Marshall Nu, Budd et a1. It is hereby certified tha'b error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and thabthe said Letters Patent. should read as "corrected below.

Col-urns 4, line 24, for "or the sli a strap, the clip portion Where either 035 the devices 41 oris p0si-" read 141, column 5, line 13, E010 "transvcrsed" read transverse Signed sealed this l-7th'day of October 1961.

(SEAL) Attest: ERNEST W. SW'IDER DAVID L. LADD Commissiofier of Patents Attesting Officer uscoMM-Dc 

